Information for prospective Borderless Pro Bono volunteers

What is the borderless pro bono family law advice project?

This project is designed to give advice and brief services only, not in court or extended representation, to unmarried parents with parentage, allocation of parental responsibilities (formerly custody and visitation), and child support issues. These are clients who Prairie State is otherwise unable to serve, so your involvement is tremendously helpful to many clients. We named our project the Borderless Pro Bono Project because we match volunteers with clients from throughout Prairie State’s 36 county services area, regardless of geography. This allows us to expand pro bono to our rural counties that do not have enough attorneys for a local program.

This project was originally funded through a Pro Bono Innovations Fund grant from the Legal Services Corporation. Prairie State is honored to be the recipient of one of these grants.

What will I do as a volunteer?

Volunteer attorneys give one-time individualized telephone advice to clients about their family law issues, and document their advice and time for Prairie State’s records. Prairie State prescreens these clients, and you call the clients back from your own home or office at your convenience. For more information about the advice project, please read our Information for Prospective Volunteers.

What is the time commitment?

This is an ideal opportunity for attorneys who have limited time available to volunteer. We ask volunteers to advise 2-5 clients per month, on a schedule of your choosing. Total time for each client is about an hour. We require a minimum three month commitment.

Do I need family law experience?

No! We welcome volunteers without family law experience. The project homepage contains a wealth of training materials designed to prepare you to volunteer for this project. We also have experienced family law pro bono attorneys available to mentor you.

What about malpractice?

All cases handled through Prairie State's pro bono program are covered by Prairie State's malpractice insurance.

How do I get started?

This project will end in December 2016 and is not currently accepting new volunteers.